Azevêdo welcomes Working Party adoption of Kazakhstan’s WTO accession package — next stop: General Council

WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo met today (23 June) with Kazakhstan’s Minister for Economic Integration, Mrs Zhanar Aitzhanova, following the adoption by consensus, ad referendum, of Kazakhstan’s WTO accession package. He congratulated the Minister and welcomed this important step which took place at a final Working Party meeting on 22 June. The Working Party will now forward the Accession Package to the General Council for formal adoption by all 161 WTO members.

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WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said:

“The conclusion of Kazakhstan’s accession is a tribute to the untiring efforts of the Government of Kazakhstan, as well as to the WTO and its Members. The high quality of the accession package will accelerate Kazakhstan’s integration into the global trading system and provide a boost to Kazakhstan’s economy for years to come. I particularly want to congratulate President Nazarbayev and Minister Aitzhanova for their key role in concluding these negotiations. As President Nazarbayev has said, it is an “historic” moment. I look forward to welcoming Kazakhstan as a Member of the WTO very soon.”

Speaking at the Working Party meeting on 22 June, Minister Aitzhanova said:

“We are ready for the next steps to be made together with you and domestically towards the membership in this organization. Our goal is to participate at the 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi as a full-fledged WTO Member.”

At the Working Party meeting members congratulated the delegation of Kazakhstan on their achievement in completing the longest accession negotiation in WTO’s history. Members commended the Government of Kazakhstan for its level of ambition and commitment to reforms and praised the role played by WTO in managing the complexities of this accession.

Working Party Chairperson Mr Vesa Himanen said:

“The 20-year accession negotiating history of the Accession of Kazakhstan is replete with challenges, complexity and uniqueness. Collectively, we have been able to prove that the system can deliver.Kazakhstan’s WTO accession sends a strong, positive and clear signal to its trading partners, for its commitment to engage with the global economy in the framework of the rules-based Multilateral Trading System. I commend the Government of Kazakhstan for its constructive and sustained engagement during one of the longest and toughest accession negotiations in the history of the Organization.”

Kazakhstan’s Accession Package will now be put to the General Council for formal adoption.